


Weasley Sweaters

by goldensnitch18



Series: That Which We Call A Rose [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-21
Updated: 2016-11-21
Packaged: 2018-09-01 09:29:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8619025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldensnitch18/pseuds/goldensnitch18
Summary: Rose and Scorpius are a little slow about figuring things out. Good for them they have Weasley Sweaters and their good friend Albus to mess things up for them.





	

Rose’s hand moved up to rub at the back of her neck. She had been working on this report for three days straight. Her hope had been to finish it up tonight, get it over with before the weekend, but it was fairly clear that wouldn’t be happening. She let out a small groan of frustration as she rocked her head back, rolling her neck. Her body could only handle being stuck at this desk for so long. She thrived on movement, time spent moving around her lab, and despised her desk work. If it was at all possible, she would hire someone to write her reports for her. She doubted very much that her employer or the Potions Registry Board would approve of that. 

 

She moved her fingers into her hair, rummaging around for the elastic band keeping her hair in a messy stack on top of her head. As she pulled it free, the thick, red curls tumbled down past her shoulders. 

 

“Long day?” a deep, familiar voice asked from her door. She lifted her head to face the visitor, already aware of who it was. Scorpius Malfoy was the only man who could make her body tingle with two simple words. 

 

“Too long. I’ll be back at this Monday,” she sighed, closing the folders before her. 

 

“It will be worth it,” he told her. As he spoke, he entered the room, and pushed the door shut, locking it behind him. 

 

“You shouldn’t do that,” she said. “You know you shouldn’t.” She pushed her chair back from the desk and stood as he made his way closer to her. 

 

“My father left hours ago.” He reached out his hands, wrapping her in his arms. Scorpius’ father, Draco, owned the potions company they both had worked for since leaving Hogwarts. “So did everyone else. It’s eight o’clock. Have you even eaten anything?” 

 

“I had a late lunch,” Rose told him as his mouth ghosted over her lips. 

 

“Come to my place. I’ll make you something to eat, and then …” He pulled at her bottom lip with his teeth, before he kissed the swollen flesh, hard and unforgiving. Against her better judgement, Rose let her arms snake around his neck, giving as good as she was getting. Her body reacted quickly, wanting him to make good on his unsaid promise here and now. 

 

When he finally pulled back from her, she shook her head. “I have brunch at the Potters and a dress fitting tomorrow,” she told him. Her cousin, James, would be getting married in just one short month. His bride-to-be happened to be her best friend, Alice Longbottom, which meant that she was roped into nearly all of their wedding plans. 

 

“So? Go home and get something to wear. You can use my shower in the morning. It’s been two weeks.” Scorpius lifted her blouse at this, his fingers making a path of shivers up her side. 

 

“Not my fault. You were gone for a week,” she insisted. He had been sent to deal with a French non-profit organization who was looking for a new potions supplier. They had submitted the bid nearly six months ago, and this had been the final step to getting it approved. Mr. Malfoy should know within the week whether or not they had landed the contract. 

 

“I’ve been back for a week. You’ve been avoiding me.” His mouth moved to her neck, sucking at her soft skin as her eyes fluttered closed. He knew every inch of her so well by now. They had been at this for nearly a year. In the beginning, it had been one night late at the office and then another a month later. Within a week, he was at her flat, pushing her against the wall of her shower. He was her drug of choice, irresistible and addictive. They had a mutually beneficial agreement - just sex, nothing more. Most of the time it was fine, but a week and a half ago, while in France, he had gone out to dinner with another woman, and Rose wasn’t sure what to make of it. 

 

Her Gran loved Scorpius as one of her own grandchildren. He and Albus had been best friends, inseparable, from their first train ride to Hogwarts. It had taken all of that first year and most of the second to convince the family that Scorpius was there to stay. When Gran had finally had him at her house in the summer after their second year, she had declared Scorpius “the most polite dear,” and Rose was convinced that he had become her favorite. From then on, she made him a Weasley sweater for Christmas, sent eggs at Easter, and demanded that he join them for the holidays as often as possible. Last week at Sunday breakfast, her Gran had pulled out Witch Weekly, turned to an inside page, and handed the paper to Albus. “Who is this?” she had asked, and Rose had leaned over to see Scorpius at dinner with a beautiful woman. She was laughing as she reached her hand across the table to rest on his, and then the loop began again. Rose skimmed the article, which was a lot of guessing at her identity and his relationship status. Albus had claimed not to know the woman, and Rose had tried to ignore the feeling in the pit of her stomach. 

 

He was dating, and he hadn’t told her. They had an arrangement, and it was supposed to end immediately if either of them started seeing someone. That was why she had been avoiding him since his return. It was one thing to have sex that didn’t mean anything with her cousin’s single best friend. It was entirely another thing to sleep with a man that was dating other women. She would not be his other woman, the dirty little secret he kept around until that woman at dinner was ready to open her legs to him. 

 

“Where is your girlfriend tonight?” she asked, trying to keep her voice steady even as his tongue touched her skin, leaving a trail of goose pimples in its wake. His reaction was not at all what she expected. Scorpius began to chuckle against her neck before he pulled back to shake his head at her. 

 

“I thought that might be what this was about.” His fingers brushed a curl behind her ear. “She isn’t my girlfriend, Rose.” He smiled down at her, and she began to feel foolish for no reason at all. 

 

“You were on a date though,” she said, holding her ground outwardly even as her walls were starting to fall. 

 

“No. I wasn’t. Aimee is an old friend. My mother was born in France. She went to primary school with Aimee’s mother until they moved back in time for my Aunt Daphne to start Hogwarts. My grandfather refused to let them attend Beauxbatons. It was nothing.” He was still smiling, and she was still feeling foolish. 

 

“It looked like something,” she said, but there was no real intent behind the words. 

 

Scorpius leaned down, claiming her lips again, kissing her softly this time. “I promise, if it was something, I would tell you.” 

 

“Okay,” she acquiesced. 

 

“Come home with me,” he demanded quietly, letting his voice show her the need that her own body mirrored.

 

“I’ll have to go home and grab some things,” she told him, already giving in to her desire. They hadn’t gone two whole weeks without sex in months, maybe not since that second time when he had set a silencing charm in his office and buried himself inside of her right there on his desk without removing any of their clothes. They had been stupid, denying and testing their sexual attraction while still working together. It had bubbled at the surface until they couldn’t handle it any more. 

 

“Hurry,” he breathed into her ear, and then he left her to pack up, and she was alone in her office wondering why she was still doing this incredibly stupid thing with him of all people. It wasn’t bad enough that he was her cousin’s best friend and practically family, he was also the son of her boss, Draco Malfoy. Mr. Malfoy just happened to be the man who had turned his family’s near ruin into the most profitable and philanthropic potions company in Britain. She admired him, and she had been trying to impress him each and every day of the past seven years. She was sure that being caught sleeping with his son would not impress him in the slightest, yet she couldn’t stop herself. The one requirement she had made of Scorpius after those stupid and reckless two times at work was that they would never have sex in the office again. 

 

The first couple months they would meet at his flat, or hers, and afterwards the other would leave. The moments before were full of energy, filled with tension so thick they could barely breathe. The moments after were filled with quick fumbling and awkward silence as one of them tried to leave without offending the other. The first time that she slept over at his flat was a mistake. It had been incredibly late after a long day at work. She had just meant to rest for a minute before climbing out of his bed to Floo home, but the next morning she woke tangled in his sheets. The world hadn’t ended, and he had made her breakfast. She didn’t cook, so that was a welcome bonus in her eyes. From that time forward, they hadn’t been quite as worried about leaving as quickly as possible, and more often than not, ended up spending the night together. Morning sex with Scorpius had become nearly as appealing as late night sex with him. 

 

Rose let out a long sigh, brushed at her face with her hand, trying to rub away the odd sensation that she hadn’t been able to shake since she had seen that image in Witch Weekly. She moved back towards her chair to pack up her things to leave. 

XXX

 

The next morning, Rose woke slowly, snuggling her body closer to the warmth of Scorpius. As he woke, she enjoyed the sensation of his fingers trailing across her skin. She let out a sleepy sigh against his chest, and his lips fell to the top of her head to kiss her. She let her own lips linger on his skin, kissing him softly as well. “You want me to make you something to eat?” he asked. 

 

She groaned, remembering that she was supposed to be at brunch later this morning. “No. I’ll just get in the shower.” 

 

“You want company?” he asked, letting his fingers slide down the side of her breast. She let out a soft breath. 

 

“Better not,” she turned away from him, and reached for her wand. His clock sat behind it, innocently ticking the seconds away. “Is this right?” she asked, her stomach dropping. 

 

“Yeah, what’s wrong?” Scorpius asked, his hand resting gently on her arm. 

 

“Fuck.” She bolted from his touch and out of the bed. She was completely naked, but she picked through the mess of clothes on his floor, dressing as quickly as possible. “Fuck, fuck fuck,” she chanted as she bounced, working on the snap of the jeans she had changed into last night. 

 

“Rose?” Scorpius asked uneasily, watching her pull on her t-shirt. 

 

“I’m supposed to be there already. I’ll just tell them I overslept and need a shower. Shit. Fuck. Alice is going to fire me. She really should. I’m shit at this wedding bullshit.” She had her bag over her shoulder as she grabbed her sweater off the ground. She bolted over to the bed to kiss him one last time. “See you later,” she told him, and he tried not to laugh as she ran out the door to his Floo while pulling her sweater over her head. 

 

XXX

 

Albus was sitting on the sofa with an apple in hand as she walked out of the Floo and into the Potter’s sitting room. 

 

“Hey, Rose!” Al said happily before he bit into the fruit. 

 

“What are you doing here?” she asked, trying not sound as flustered as she felt. 

 

“James is making Dad and I go get fitted today also.” He seemed about as excited by this as she did about the prospect of a day of trying on ludicrously expensive dresses until she found one that she would wear for a few hours and then never touch again. “Girls are in the kitchen.” 

 

“Can you tell them I overslept while I use the shower?” 

 

“Yeah, course,” he told her through his full mouth. 

 

“Thank you,” she told him, grateful that she might be able to look halfway decent before they went out in public. Ginny and Alice would probably still not be pleased that she had been late to the brunch. She shifted her bag and the dress she was holding to one hip, freeing her hand to brush through her unruly hair as she spoke. 

 

Al swallowed, grinned, and started to say something, but the sound never became a word. He stared at her chest, and his eyebrows puckered together as his mouth fell open. 

 

“What?” she asked, staring back at him, confused. 

 

“What is that?” he asked, pointing at her sweater with one long finger. Rose looked down, expecting food or a hole, but the truth was so much worse. Instead of the R she was expecting, a large, perfectly knit, bronze “S” stared back up at her. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. 

 

Her mind raced as she stammered incoherent noises, searching for an answer that made sense. “We were working late. I was cold,” she finally told him, and he glared. His eyes squinted at her, as if they could see the truth if they only looked hard enough. 

 

“On what?” he asked. “Didn’t Scor just get back from France? I thought he was taking it easy this week.” Albus knew too much for his own good, or hers certainly. 

 

“I’m working on a proposal for my potion. He knows I hate the paperwork. He’s just helping me out.” She begged, prayed, pleaded that he would let this go. She didn’t have the ability to focus on throwing him off the scent. 

 

“I think he did mention you were working on something big.” Albus said, seeming to reconsider his assumptions. 

 

“Yeah, it’s going to have to go before the Registry Board. They’ve already sent it back twice in the past three years.” That part wasn’t a fabrication. She had poured the last year of her life into getting this right. 

 

“Okay, well, you look like shit. You better go shower. I’ll let mum know.” He rose from his chair to head towards the kitchen as she ran for the stairs, happy to get out from under his stare.

 

XXX

Scorpius still felt half asleep as he waited for his eggs to finish cooking. He was being lazy this morning, directing his food and pans with his wand from his seat. He had contemplated going back to sleep after Rose had left, but he had known that he was too hungry. When she had finally made it to his flat last night, he hadn’t been able to persuade her to wait until after dinner, not that he’d done much protesting. Instead, they had each taken a spoon to some ice cream on his couch an hour later. She had been in his old Ravenclaw jersey and her knickers, long legs draped over his lap. He’d been a gentleman and waited until they were back in his room to pull both off to taste her again. Watching her lick ice cream from her spoon had certainly been entertaining, but it hadn’t provided much in the way of nutrition. 

 

With a flick of his wrist, he directed a plate out of the cupboard and near the pan to wait for his nearly finished eggs. As he watched the pan begin to move towards the plate, he heard the unmistakable sound of someone landing in his Floo. There were only four people permitted direct Floo access to his flat, so, unless it was Rose, or his parents had suddenly decided to start dropping in unannounced, Albus was in his flat. 

 

Moments later, the black haired man was in his kitchen, staring at him. “Morning,” Scorpius mumbled, directing toast to join his eggs before the plate moved towards him. Albus looked around the room, as if searching for something, and then moved back into the living room. Scorpius stared after him, confused for a long moment, and then slid reluctantly off the chair to follow him, leaving his food behind. It was better to humor his friend when he went a bit weird. 

 

Albus was nowhere to be found when he made it to the living room, so he moved back into the rear of the flat, towards his room. As he stood in the door of his bedroom, Scorpius watched Albus rifle through the mess of clothes littering the floor. “What are you doing, mate?” Albus ignored him, moving deeper into the room, towards the far side of the bed. He leaned down one more time and picked up a Weasley sweater. It was apparently inside out, because Albus pulled at the sleeves and shook the sweater back the right direction. Scorpius no longer needed Albus to tell him what he was doing rummaging around in the laundry. Scorpius sighed as he moved into the room, crossing his arms as if to protect himself from whatever was coming. “I guess she grabbed the wrong sweater.”

 

Albus turned, staring incredulously. “Are you bloody kidding me?” he asked, shaking the sweater in one clenched fist. 

 

“She was in a hurry,” Scorpius said, knowing that wasn’t the right answer, but failing to find a better one. 

 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Albus shouted, dropping the sweater back to the floor. 

 

“It’s none of your business,” Scorpius told him truthfully.

 

“She’s my cousin, and you are my best friend.” Albus’ eyes grew wide as he stared on, furious. 

 

“And, we are both adults. We don’t need your permission or approval.” 

 

“My … what the … I’m not saying that!” he sputtered. “Fuck, Scor. I know that, but I would have thought you would have told me if you were seeing each other.” Scorpius froze, his body tense as he avoided Albus’ eyes. “Wait.” Albus’ voice was bare of emotion now. Scorpius had to resist taking a step back from him. “What exactly is going on between you?” he asked, his gaze locked on Scorpius. 

 

“It’s nothing,” Scorpius said. Even as the words came out, he knew they were a lie. Dinner with Aimee before another night alone in his hotel room wishing Rose was with him was truly nothing, something done out of responsibility more than anything. This thing with Rose was something entirely different. 

 

“Nothing?” Al thundered. “She is my family! She is not nothing.”

 

“Neither one of us want anything serious right now,” Scorpius told him. 

 

“How long?” Albus asked, his voice back to the scary, empty tone. 

 

“About a year.” Scorpius had the sense to look ashamed, flushing as he rubbed at his face. 

 

“A year?” It came out near a whisper, but Scorpius heard it reverberate around his ears as loud as drums.

 

“Yeah,” he said, unable to think of anything better to say. 

 

“You’re both fucking idiots,” Albus insisted as he began to laugh. He strode quickly towards Scorpius and then past him. Scorpius followed him again. “Neither one of you could ever commit to a second date in your life, but shagging for a year? Why the bloody hell not.” Albus continued to rant as he made his was for the fireplace. 

 

“What are you doing?” Scorpius asked, as Al reached for the Floo powder. 

 

“Going to tell Rose she’s a fucking idiot, too. A bloody year.” He shook his head as he tossed the powder into the fireplace. 

XXX

The dress shopping took just as long as Rose feared it would. Alice made them try on what felt like every dress in the shop, hoping to find the perfect design that would magically flatter five different bodies. It was rough to say the least. Two hours in, Hannah, Alice’s mother, suggested that perhaps they could select different dress styles and have them made in the same color. They had spent the following two hours modeling dresses, the five of them in a row as Ginny, Alice, and Hannah stared appraisingly at them. It was something out of Rose’s nightmares. 

 

When it was all done, her dress finally selected, ordered, and measurements complete, Rose had gone home, exhausted. She had gone to work emptying her bag into her dirty clothes hamper, pausing when she reached Scorpius’ sweater. Against all rational thought, she brought the sweater to her nose. The scent was a mixture of the clean smell of his sheets and a light hint of his cologne. She sighed softly against the fabric as a lump formed in her throat. She needed to get this sweater out of her flat. 

 

She pulled the sweater away and walked back towards her front door. She left, locking the door behind her as she went, still clutching the sweater. She would give it back to him, pick up her own, and everything would be fine. Once out in the hall where apparition was permitted, Rose turned on the spot, apparating to Scorpius’ hallway. 

 

Rose knocked at his front door, hoping he was still home. She could only imagine herself completely losing her mind, wearing the sweater to bed, her arms tucked around her body. It only took a few moments for Scorpius to open the door, smiling out at her. “Back for your sweater?” he asked. 

 

“Yeah,” she told him, laughing a bit. “I guess I grabbed yours this morning. She bit her lip anxiously. “Albus saw it. I told him we were working late, and I was cold.” 

 

Scorpius sighed at that. “You better come in.” He stepped aside, allowing her to move into his flat. 

 

She turned back to him, worry showing plainly on her face as she asked, “what’s wrong?” 

 

“Al came by this morning. I didn’t realize he had seen you in my sweater.” Scorpius was frowning as he watched her closely. 

 

“Did he ask you about it?” she asked hesitantly. 

 

“No. He went for my room and found your sweater on the ground. He said he was going to talk to you.” 

 

“We must have left before he got back,” Rose told him, not sure if she should be glad or upset to have missed the chance to talk to her cousin. “What did you tell him?” 

 

“The truth. Didn’t see much choice. He was really angry, and then when I told him it had been a year he got all weird,” Scorpius told her as he remembered. 

 

“How so?” 

 

“Well, he said something about how, well ...” Scorpius trailed off. 

 

“What? What did he say?” Rose asked, irritated that he wouldn’t just tell her. 

 

“That we are both fucking idiots.”

 

“Why?” She was surprised by his answer. 

 

“Something about shagging for a year when neither of us have ever been on a second date.” Rose watched Scorpius run a hand through his blonde hair as her cheeks tinged pink at the memory of her nose buried in his Weasley sweater. 

 

“That’s ridiculous,” she said with very little actual conviction. 

 

“Yeah, of course,” he agreed, but she couldn’t help but think he looked slightly disappointed. Her heart pounded in her ears at the thought. She’d become so used to the way things were, the secrecy and the nothingness of it. If she really considered it, the idea of being with him, of having Scorpius as hers, wasn’t such a terrible idea. Really, how would it be much different than what they were already doing? Her stomach flipped as she bit her bottom lip again, pondering this question. 

 

She suddenly had a flash of herself in that stupid dress she had spent hours picking out, Scorpius beside her in his dress robes, and before her brain could stop it, her mouth was running away with the thought. “You could come to the wedding.” 

 

“I am going to the wedding,” he told her, confusion sliding over his features. 

 

“With me, I mean. You could go with me.” She felt her palms itch as she spoke, waiting for him to tell her no, this wasn’t how they did things. 

 

Instead, his eyes grew wide as a smile started on his lips. “Yeah. That would be nice.” They were silent for a few long moments, both flushed and grinning stupidly, before he spoke again. “You could come to the fundraiser with me next weekend.” 

 

“I’m already going to the fundraiser,” she teased. Their parents would all be there. It was an event for the Magical Creatures ward that had been added to St. Mungo’s. Her mother was still highly involved in the organization, and Draco’s father was a donor. 

 

“With me. A date,” he insisted, saying the actual word. 

 

“I’d like that.” Rose replied. Scorpius closed the distance between them then, three quick steps, and his sweater fell to the ground as her arms moved around him, returning his kiss with fervor.

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to ErisAceso for your time as beta on this one shot. I appreciate it very much.
> 
> I hope that you have enjoyed and would love to hear your thoughts. 
> 
> xoxo
> 
> Meg


End file.
